Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Being in the graphics business, the subject of weight loss was an easy one for me. Who needs gastric bypass when you've got Photoshop? It worked like a charm for the Christmas cards, but it was a little less impressive in person.
I used to be big. A lot bigger. At the pool, diving boards would scream for mercy. At Sea World, I was often mistaken for Shamu's brother. So how did I lose 40 pounds? I used my phone.
A calorie counting app on my smart phone has a database of around 30,000 foods, so you can find just about anything in there. There are hundreds of apps to choose from. (In this case, I used an app called "Lose It.") Many of them can help you record not only calorie intake, but also exercise and more.
I started exercising and keeping track of what I was eating. Whatever I ate, I recorded. Whatever I did to exercise, I recorded it. It was kind of a pain at first, but you are able to quickly learn why and where the calories are adding up, and what it takes to work it all off. You simply set up a daily "quota" for calories.
Whatever you eat/drink takes away from the total. When you exercise, you add back to that total. A hot dog would set me back 450 calories, but I could "re-deposit" those same 450 calories into my quota by getting in four miles on the treadmill. It's a math game.
Sometimes it takes a little creativity. Instead of using a two-for-one coupon for the big double jumbo burger - 1400 calories - I did a little research and found out that you can get a 12-inch sub sandwich, minus the mayo and cheese, for about 620 calories.
You don't have to necessarily give up all the foods you love, you can just replace them where you can with stuff that tastes just as good. Many times you can discover great-tasting food that you'd never considered before. Before long, your tastes change and you can see the change in the mirror.
Now, it's not just about the calories. You have to take into account the total nutritional value. A cup full of M&Ms contains about 350 calories, which is roughly the same as an icy protein shake with fresh strawberries and kiwi. Obviously one is better for you, and you have to keep that in mind.
The results of all this extra math were that I dropped about 40 pounds. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the occasional candy bar, and the world probably won't end if you eat that Big Mac. The main thing is whatever you eat, to write it down.
Overall, it's not as hard as it sounds. Change may come slow, but it does come. You just need to look at things differently. Be smart about it. In the long run, these apps will save you time, money and even diving boards.
Email: [timjohnson@ksl.com](<mailto: timjohnson@ksl.com>)
